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The art of auto engineering

howacarworks.com

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Re: The art of auto engineering

#101

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

fl7305 wrote: post #71
bluetomcat wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can do many small repairs and maintenance activities without much specialised tools and equipment, but to confidently disassemble and rebuild engines, fuel and exhaust systems, body parts, driveline components, etc., requires more than a few hours of videos.

I never wrote that I was "confident" about it. I fly paragliders for fun, but that doesn't compare at all in excitement to starting an engine where I just changed the timing belt. I watched more than a few hours of video to do that. But it was possible to do with the help of YT videos and VW's official workshop manuals that you can buy and download from their erWin website. I started from absolutely zero. I've replac…

> especially if it's your daily driver and you can't just leave it for a week or two.

/me remembers jumping on his bicycle and riding two towns over to the Toyota dealership (in pre-Amazon days) to buy a rear spring hanger pin because I'd just spent 4 hours cutting the old one off after taking the day off work to get the truck fixed. This after making multiple bike trips to the industrial supply shop to buy more Sawzall blades that kept dulling as I tried to cut off a hardened steel pin!

Re: The art of auto engineering

#102

Post by smokelegend »

chefandy wrote: post #83

I'm curious if anybody would be interested in this sort of cliff's notes breakdown of any other mechanical engineering topic? My dad's a retired mechanical engineer and many of my cousins are also mechanical engineers. I'm media savvy. Should I prompt them to doing something like this? Auto engineering seems much more broadly appealing than, say, fluid dynamics in ventilation systems. Maybe more youtube-channel-level…

Yes, and yes, there's an argument to be made that if something shows up on HN and it's engineering related, it's going to attract a certain amount of eyeballs... "if you build it, they will come"

Re: The art of auto engineering

#103

Post by arnsholt »

AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

The course description and the car is modern, but would this also be helpful for understanding a classic car? I’ve inherited a classic Jag which is great, but being reliant on others for understanding and repairs is sometimes a bit limiting.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#104

Post by AlexMuir »

arnsholt wrote: post #103
AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

The course description and the car is modern, but would this also be helpful for understanding a classic car? I’ve inherited a classic Jag which is great, but being reliant on others for understanding and repairs is sometimes a bit limiting.

It’s absolutely useful for that! You’ll be on a carburettor instead of injection but that’s about the only difference! The Miata really isn’t much evolved from the 60s sports cars it’s based on.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#105

Post by AlexMuir »

tclancy wrote: post #94
AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

This is exactly what I've been looking for. Purchased! One request if you get time/ it's easy: can you add a Chromecast option to the mobile app? At least on iOS I don't see an option.

Yes - I’ll move he videos across to Mux’s native player soon and that will provide what you need!

Re: The art of auto engineering

#106

Post by chanakya »

AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

Just wanted to add to the many voices who felt they got way more than the $25 they paid for the content on the site. Wonderful videos, and your passion for cars got me to working on my own car, where I've made several changes since.

Wish you all the best as you add to it!

Re: The art of auto engineering

#107

Post by mattlondon »

AlexMuir wrote: post #15

Oh no! I come to procrastinate on HN and find my own site at #2. After many years, it's still not ready to share!! I've got so much more I want to do with it. Even though I'm sure it looks abandoned, I have been working hard on getting back into this. The last couple of months I've been developing a 3D viewer for mechanical components that lets you disassemble/rebuild/step through processes. I wish I could share it b…

Major props for Tim Hunkin.

He is self-publishing on YouTube these days but in the past was broadcasting similar things on UK national TV: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_Machines

Both the old and recent stuff is great.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#108

Post by seabass-labrax »

Fradow wrote: post #65
BlueGh0st wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As usual, Miata is the answer. But in a world where the Miata doesn't exist, which car do you think you would have chosen for this project?

I had to answer this question for myself, because Miatas were outside of my budget (3000€), and a bit rare to find in the first place where I live (France). I went with a 1st gen Mini Cooper (2001 to 2006). So far it has been the perfect car to learn on, because I went with a working one and did the basic maintenance plus a few not-too-hard parts that needed replacement (of course your luck can vary, I'm very lucky t…

My father did an car maintenance course in the 90s with his Mini City (like this one[1]), which involved taking the car apart and reassembling much like in the OP's video course. He said it was a very valuable experience, and that the Mini was the perfect car to learn on as all the parts were easily accessible and uncomplicated in design.

[1]: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mini_city_registered...

Re: The art of auto engineering

#109

Post by wombatpm »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #98
fl7305 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good tip. If you really want to work on a car but have a choice in which one, do some research. Cars vary a lot on how easy they are to work on.

Bringing it back to the author, I've heard that the MX-5 is about the easiest car to work on that's still readily available. And Saturns. Saturns are like Lego.

Saturn cars are incredible. I had a 92 SL2. Drove it for 14 years and 350k miles. Sold it to a guy who delivered newspapers and saw it still running two years later. That plastic body that didn't rust was incredible. Sucks that GM just killed that car line.

Re: The art of auto engineering

#110

Post by Robelius »

AlexMuir wrote: post #73
pcthrowaway wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be honest, $25 lifetime seems like a steal for this. Maybe it's the value of the current content, but consider raising prices for new subscribers after some more content is finished, maybe to $40 or something. Or you could also try location-based pricing if you want to keep it affordable/accessible to people outside of first-world countries

Thanks! When I get more progress then I'll probably increase the price but in all honesty it makes enough money to cover the production cost and that's good enough for me. Regional pricing is a good idea!

Hey Alex, I bought the app a few years ago when I first found the website. Just opened it up for the first time in a while, and saw I can buy the course through the app. But wanted to let you know (in the low chance you aren't aware) that purchasing the course through the app is only $20 instead of $25.
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